So, are students even allowed to bring caps to school, if they keep them in their lockers? Before, were students allowed to wear caps in the classroom? Or just in the hallways?

And what about wearing hats to school in the winter?

Now that they've banned caps, are they going to start banning everything students fight over? If students steal pencils or pens from each other and whip them at each other, will those be outlawed as well?

Holy Buckets!!!
Parents should of taught their kids that you should not wear your hats indoors when they were little.

Miss Manners says hats are taken off as a sign of respect (in front of the U.S. Flag, in the presence of a lady, when entering a home/building). I mean, it's old-school etiquette.

But, many area schools have hat/headwear policies not only because of respect, but because of safety issues and problems that crop up from hats. Fights, gang-related/clique issues, and theft are a few reasons.

Pawlicki said at PLHS, it has to do with the amount of time administrators spent dealing with scuffles and thefts related to hats this year. Students horse around, toss hats off of the upstairs area to the floor below, and it has created problems in the hallways.

It's not just hats - iPods and cell phones have been issues addressed in the student handbook previously, as well. The same three-strike policy is used.

I don't think they're referring to fashion headbands in the policy, but students can ask for clarification at the school, and teachers will discuss the policy during the first week of classes so they know what's going on.

I totally agree that wearing hats in the classroom, etc, isn't proper etiquette (and sadly, we are losing such etiquette). When I was in high school (back in the late 1990s), most teachers wouldn't allow hats in the classroom. We weren't supposed to wear jackets either, I don't think, but that rule was relaxed when the classrooms were cold during the winter.

So, were caps allowed before in the classroom at Prior Lake? I'm confused.

I still don't understand why the school is attacking a physical artifice versus just punishing bad behavior. At some point, when you try to legislate every thing that could possibly be used for misbehavior, it becomes ridiculous and you end up losing respect as an authority figure.

I remember when we got a new high school principal, one of the first things he said was, I'm not going to allow students to have plastic bottled pop because at my old school, kids put alcohol in their bottles. Not only did this lower our impression of him right off the bat, but it gave every student who had never thought of doing it, the idea. (The rule went quietly away when the school wanted revenue from a pop machine contract. ) If kids really want to do something bad, they'll find a way of doing it.

I always found that it didn't matter how many rules a teacher had, either a teacher commanded respect and received it, or they didn't and students acted accordingly.

The article does not mention that Ipods, MP3 Players and CD Players are now also banned according to the handbook. That is also new. They are going to be treated the same as the cell phones. I hope the school office has a good system to mark all the confiscated items. I think it makes sense, but should have been done years ago or they should have not got lack.

Its HARD to find s school that goes after JEWS as much as this one. Orthodox Jews MUSt wear hats at all times, according to their religion. Get rid of the hats, & the Jews GOT to leave or go to hell by taking them off.... Its kind of a subtle way for the school board to say the jews can go to hell....
Of course all thios 'Fighting" over "Hatts" couyld juste be s smokescreen that the parents are raising a bunch of racist kids who attack Jews and the hats are a coincideence???. Religuos exemptions for the Jew hats are a problematic accomodation. Its kinda like forcing them all to wear a yelow star of david so that the can be identified in case folks ever want to round them up & gas them.
Yep gettin a ban this RACIST has been IMOPSSIBLE for the KKK to accomlish in the deep south, & unthinkable for present day Germans. A Jew free townn & a Jew free school ........ Almost, but these days, not all jews are orthodox , the reform Jews who dont wear the hats are someetimes able to "pass" for white & racists are more accepting of them as "Good" jews who know their place & dont "act Jewish" in public........its progress from Hitlers day, but not much...........

And this Ladies and Gentlemen is why mom and dad should not get the internet.

Comparing Hats to Hitler is a little far fetched

To clarify - students WILL be allowed to wear hats for religious reasons or medical reasons, according to the School Board policy.

Skinheads =ok boyscout-hats=banned
Odd that Skinheads are now required to bear their heads & Swashitca tatooos, when they register at the scool. & youths are ENCOURAGED to join their gangs over The Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts & the Girl scouts as those groups have hats as part of their uniforms, and as thet are neither religiously or medically required , those groiups have just GOT to go if the hat ban is strictly enforced.
My kid would not be able to wear his boy scout hat to school But as for Shaving his head & getting a Swashtica tattoo to join the local skinhead chapter NO PROBLEM , that would not violate the hat ban.
A simple google search on Skinheads in Minnesota brought up this http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php/minnesota-skinheads-and-l...

Even shows a local skinhead in full hat free outfit! nice to know that HIS kids arent going to be hassled over hats & will get extra members now that those troublemaker Boyscouts & their hats are banned!!!

Soooo anyway..........take your hat off before you go into the school, ok kids?

Some kids might have to shower before school now, since they can no longer hide their uncombed mops under a Twins cap.

Bad hair days may take on a new meaning.

SOME HAts ARE dangerous, Turns out that a Baseball ca company had been turning out baseball caps, with Gang logos & signs on them. They stopped when they realized that an unsuspecting kid could buy the hat based on liking the colors , or design, & then walk into the wrong neighborhood without realizing & get killed by rival gang members.
The Gang that Chooses Spongebob hats as Identifiers would seem harmless though. It does however as if folks are looking for 1 step quick fixes "Ban guns in school" which works till they start stabbing each other, running each other over with cars (happend just this summer in 1 prior lake gang killing) "Ban hats so they cant recognize each other", Just leads to tatoos, T shirts.
Down south, we have different solutions to the same problems. Almost EVERYBODY has guns, (though not in schools or most bars) so we are tend to be extra polite in public as you DONT want to make a probable gun owner angry. The cops also tend to be Incredibly tough. The 1 Riot, 1 Ranger motto & legend started when a lone armed Texas Ranger suppressed a riot of over 100 people all by himself. It also makes it EXTRA important for us to address the problems before the problems become conflicts. Strangely , although its not perfect, things tend to be pretty peaceful here.
Banning all hats just seems too extreme, but after reading more about your community I now definitely agree that banning SOME hats (Ie the gang ones, may help & is warranted) Sadly though not all gangs use hats, & the others will just pick up the slack, even if the hat ban worked. What is really needed is better policing & for somebody to address the underlying issues of why kids join gangs in the first place. .....

There has not been a "gang killing" in Prior Lake!
There was a Prior Lake man killed in a Burnsville incident in which police suspected possible gang activity. But there have been no gang killings reported in Prior Lake. Let's stick to the facts.

Key in Prior lake to Google & you get all SORTS of info on drug rehab centers , and on the Latin Kings, one of the gang responsible for distribution in your area. & indeed most of your state. It also brings to the forefront the idiocy of the hat ban, for if there is no gangs activity, or "dicipline problem" the the had ban is the product of a small minded, possibly racist mindset.
As for the Man who was killed, they did arrest juveniles of high school age, gang or not, if the school bully kills someone, whether he was wearing a hat is the LEAST of your problems.
Also the hat ban still leaves racist skinheads and neo-nazis free to express themselves, & even ENCOURAGES this sort of thing by mandating the display of skin head tattoos in a hat free environment. It also is the recurrent example of the ineffective way in which school administrators are addressing problems.
If a student shoots someone, ban guns, then a studdent is stabbed to death, ban knives, then a student gets run over in the parking lot, ban cars, the a student gets garroted in the hallway, and the cycle continues. At no point would they be interested in finding out what is CAUSING the problems.
Also, as skinheads & ms13 start moving to your town,
to pick up the slack, folks may finally be forced to address the issues. links on gangs & killings in prior lake
http://www.plamerican.com/node/5552/print
Gang leader arrest -
http://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2006/090606.htm
drug rehab link
http://www.addictionca.com/contact2.htm?state=Minnesota&city=Prior%20Lak...
Since drugs are distributed by gangs and the maffia, teh presence of a drug treatment center in your town is a dead giveaway that there are distributors in your area.
Drug Threat in Prior Lake ------
Sources
Drug Situation:In Minnesota, Mexican traffickers control the transportation, distribution, and bulk sales of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and small amounts of black-tar heroin. Numerous Mexican groups and street gangs such as the Latin Kings are operating in the city. As a general rule, the upper echelon Mexican distributors in Minnesota transport the majority of their proceeds back to family members residing in Mexico. At the retail level, independent African-American traffickers, African-American street gangs, Native-American gangs, and independent white group purchase cocaine, black-tar heroin, and marijuana from Mexican traffickers. In outlying areas of the city, independent white groups and outlaw motorcycle gangs distribute methamphetamine in small quantities. Street gang activity in Minnesota has increased dramatically over the past few years. African-American gangs appear to be primarily involved in the distribution of crack cocaine.
URL for mor details
http://www.drug-rehabs.org/Minnesota-Prior_Lake-drug-rehab-treatment.htm

Prior Lake MN, -Pleasantville it AINT
Yet people still say "we have no gangs""
Banning hats is a move that is just as dumb as banning cars to prevent drive-by shootings. it would just change habits to "walk by shootings", the shootings would continue. the activities , & NOT the hats are what needs to be addressed...

Thanks, Jensen313. I appreciate your comments. I think it's important for adults to understand issues students face at school.

We can guess at what goes on (and report the "hard facts" like School Board proceedings) but its great when students step up and let people know their experiences.

Do you feel that the racism is organized (an actual group of students that gang up on minority students)? Are the KKK markings at random, or have they been written on minority students' lockers, for example?

When you say the Russian mafia students have brought items to school, is there anything specific? (guns, knives or are you talking colors/symbols)